If we want all students with ability to succeed in STEM courses, we need to consciously design learning environments in which every student is welcome to fully participate in learning.

Featured Resource: The CIRTL online course “Introduction to STEM Teaching” has developed a wonderful module on inclusive teaching, which CEILS highly recommends to faculty, instructors, and TAs as a wonderful introduction to what is really meant by “inclusive” teaching. You can view this module here.

This data-driven report summarizes issues with inequalities in outcomes of students at UCLA, and provides recommendations for addressing these discrepancies and improving successful outcomes for ALL students. Inclusive teaching practices are among the recommendations.

Have you ever been in a group discussion where one or two people dominated the conversation? How about a time when you wanted to share an idea, but were immediately interrupted? Ever witness someone saying something insensitive or innappropriate and not sure how to intervene? What about a time when the group discussion digressed so much that little was accomplished from the intended goal?

Most of us have had the above experiences, and for students these can be frequent experiences in classes that include group discussion and group work. At the same time, group collaboration and discussion skills are important skills for students (and instructors) to develop.

The strategy of setting ground rules for group discussion can be an effective technique for promoting an inclusive climate. Students may create their own grown rules or instructors may wish to provide them. Once developed and communicated, ground rules can be revisited at any time.

Sample ground rules:

Allow the speaker to complete their thought before making a comment (avoid interrupting).

Do not engage in texting or side conversations during group discussion.

Provide opportunities for individuals who have not yet spoken to offer their thoughts.

Silence in the classroom can feel uncomfortable for students and instructors alike, but processing information takes time. Waiting for several seconds after asking a question so that students, particularly introverted ones, are able to gather their thoughts before responding is proven to expand participation and improve the quality of student responses. In this video, Bob Kegan and Dan Levy discuss their strategies for using wait-time in the classroom, which Levy calls “one of the most underused weapons that an instructor has at his/her disposal.”

Students in Crisis: From the Office of the Dean of Students: Faculty and Staff 911 Guide for Students, commonly known as the “Red Folder.” This tool is intended to provide you with quick access to important resources for assisting students in need.

Understanding Implicit Bias and Stereotype Threat

Do you discriminate? In the following TedTalk, UCLA law professor Jerry Kang exposes the phenomenon of automatic processing and how it relates to explicit and implicit bias. Decades of research shows that attitudes and stereotypes influence how we see and behave. Despite our best efforts, are we all under the sway of “the rightness of whiteness?” And is there evidence showing that these biases can be reduced — at least temporarily? Using humor and audience participation, Kang challenges our assumptions while shifting our perceptions of at least one Asian male.

Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaborative network of researchers investigating implicit social cognition – thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. Project Implicit is the product of a team of scientists whose research produced new ways of understanding attitudes, stereotypes and other hidden biases that influence perception, judgment, and action.

Project Implicit translates that academic research into practical applications for addressing diversity, improving decision-making, and increasing the likelihood that practices are aligned with personal and organizational values.